Established in 1977 by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the American Forces Information Service (AFIS) published news about and for the United States military, charged with sharing “information that is intended to keep [Department of Defense] military and civilian personnel and their family members well informed on matters concerning national defense, readiness, military benefits, American and military heritage, and issues affecting their own morale and well-being.”  Active until 2008, the AFIS ran several information services, including the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service and the Armed Forces Press and Publications Service. It also published magazines, pamphlets, and billboards—a.k.a. posters—meant to remind military personnel and their families of regulations, best practices, and potential threats (domestic and foreign).

More than 100 of these AFIS billboards have been preserved in the M. Louis Salmon Library Government Documents Collection at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Now available via JSTOR, the billboard collection offers a view into the mindset of US military information services in the 1980s and ’90s.

Some of the billboards offer exactly the kind of advice you’d think you’d read on a military poster: don’t spill state secrets, don’t forget to vote, and always expect the unexpected.  And perhaps not surprisingly, many reveal a preoccupation with health and fitness. Several billboards demonstrate the dangers of becoming an American “couch potato,” while others advise us to steer clear of bacon burgers and beer. And if you don’t find that compelling advice, still other posters deliver the same message in a different manner: if you skip the TV and the burger, you can become a beefcake yourself. Other billboards offer advice on losing a “spare tire,” dealing with hypertension, monitoring your cholesterol levels, and deciphering the food pyramid. Still others testify to the military’s ongoing concern with sunburn and skin cancer (perhaps on shore leave?). Speaking of shore leave, you might also want to be wary of STDs, but not so wary that you’re controlled by fear.

Several of the posters in the collection reveal the stress and fractures in military life in the 1980s and ’90s. We’re encouraged to deal with our credit card debt, our gambling addiction, and our attitude problem. Quit smoking. Don’t drink and drive. Wear your seat belt. Don’t be embarrassed to talk to someone about your mental health.

The Department of Defense encouraged members of the armed forces to get to know their neighbors and learn about their history and heritage. Several AFIS billboards recognize the roles of Hispanic Americans, Black Americans, and Asian Americans in the US military. An American eagle, talons out to pounce on prey, compellingly highlights the contributions of Native Americans. A billboard for Women’s History Month celebrates Army surgeon Dr. Mary Walker, Air Force F-15 fighter pilot  1^st Lt. Jeannie Flynn, and US Navy Commodore Grace M. Hopper.

The Department of Defense frequently celebrated women in the military via the AFIS poster, delivering a strong message about sexual harassment: don’t be a chauvinist pig, and please be a whistle-blower if you meet one on the job. Still other posters remind everyone to use respectful language when referring to women.

The above represent just a small selection of the posters preserved and digitized by The University of Alabama at Huntsville. Want to see more? Visit the Defense Billboards collection here at JSTOR—and check out the university’s other JSTOR collections as well. They’re open and available to all!

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